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This release note provides information on the latest posting of AMD's industry leading software suite, Catalyst™. This particular software suite updates both the AMD Display Driver, and the Catalyst™ Control Center. This unified driver has been further enhanced to provide the highest level of power, performance, and reliability. The AMD Catalyst™ software suite is the ultimate in performance and stability.

The Catalyst™ software suite 7.9 contains the following:

Radeon™ display driver 8.411

Multimedia Center™ 9.16 (Windows XP only)

HydraVision™ (Windows XP only)

HydraVision™ Basic Edition (Windows XP only)

Remote Wonder 3.04 (Windows XP only)

WDM Driver Install Bundle

Southbridge/IXP Driver

Catalyst™ Control Center Version 7.9

Catalyst 7.9 introduces the following new features:

Avivo Video Converter for Windows Vista (64-bit)

This release of Catalyst™ introduces the Avivo Video Converter for the Windows Vista (64 bit) operating system. The Avivo Video Converter is a transcoder tool that provides a quick and easy way of converting videos from one format to another. The Avivo Video Converter found within the Catalyst™ Control Center, allows the user to select the input file, and output format, along with the quality level and file location. The Avivo. Video Converter accepts a wide variety of file formats as a source, and outputs to file formats such as MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4/DivX, WMA, H.264/AVC and more.

Catalyst Control Center: Color Temperature Control

This release of Catalyst™ introduces Color Temperature Control within the Catalyst Control Center, allowing users to adjust the chromatic level shown on their display. Supported on the ATI Radeon™ X1000 Series and Radeon™ HD 2000 Series of products.

Performance Improvements

The following performance improvements are noticed with Catalyst™ 7.9:

Call of Duty 2 performance improves as much as 12% with Anti-Aliasing enabled on the ATI Radeon™ HD2600XT CrossFire™ and single card configurations

Half-Life 2: Episode 1 performance improves at most 9% on ATI Radeon™ HD2600XT CrossFire™ and as much as 6% on the ATI Radeon™ HD2400XT CrossFire™ configurations.

Serious Sam 2 performance improves up to 46% on the ATI Radeon™ HD2400XT CrossFire™ and up to 27% on the ATI Radeon™ HD2600XT single card and CrossFire™ configurations with Anti-Aliasing enabled.

Quake 4 performance with Anti-Aliasing improves 9% or more on the ATI Radeon™ X1600/X1650Pro and ATI Radeon™ X1300/X1550 products in both single and CrossFire™ configurations

ATI's Folding@Home

Folding@Home is a distributed computing project designed by the Stanford University. The application performs intensive simulations of protein folding. This simulation will help researchers uncover how certain diseases develop. Folding@Home uses distributed computing to simulate protein folding, the workload is broken up into small work units and distributed across hundreds of thousands of computers over the internet. You can help find the cure to many different diseases! To join Folding@Home, follow these steps:

Resolved Issues for the Windows Vista Operating System

This section provides information on resolved issues in this release of the ATI Catalyst™ Software Suite for Windows Vista. These include:

Bioshock: Missing, blackout, and flashing surfaces are no longer noticed in the game. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29549

Bioshock: Random polygons shooting up in the sky are no longer noticed. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29551

Gods: Land of Infinity (demo): Having the in-game options set to 1920x1200 32bpp, Shadows on High, and Texture Quality set to High no longer results in only the mouse pointer being visible. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28810

LostPlanet: Display flicker is no longer noticed when playing the game under the Windows Vista operating system. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29560

Monsters.Inc: Enabling DXVA no longer results in certain game scenes appearing choppy. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29546

Prey: Texture tearing is no longer noticed in certain areas of the game. This issue was known to occur on ATI Radeon™ HD 2x00 series of products. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29563

Quake3: Moving the mouse pointer over the options listed in the System Setup no longer results in the option being highlighted and the option being overdrawn by the highlight. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29531

World of Warcraft: Playing the game with wide or narrow tent Anti-Aliasing filters no longer results in wireframe flashing. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28807

Attempting to enable CrossFire™ on a secondary display device no longer results in CrossFire™ failing to be enabled. Further information on this issue may be found in topic number. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28844

Windows Dream Scene Content: Corruption is no longer noticed when attempting to run the preview for the chosen clips. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28856

The ATI resolution and color text "mouse over" dialog box no longer contains a mix of English and Arabic. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28811

Playing an HD-DVD title using the Cyberlink player no longer results in corruption or the Windows Vista operating system failing to respond after a short period of playback time. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28827

Using WinDVD or WMP11 to playback a DVD title with subtitles enabled no longer results in the edge of subtitle appearing transparent. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29533

Hot-plugging an HDMI display device to a system containing an ATI Radeon™ Xpress 12x0 series of product no longer results in the HDMI display device failing to be detected under the Windows Vista operating system. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29535

MediaDirect no longer displays corruption prior to Blu-ray movies starting. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29544

Enabling Overlay Theater Mode no longer results in tearing and choppy playback being noticed when clone mode is enabled. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29557

Playing an HD-DVD title using the Cyberlink player no longer results in corruption or the Windows Vista operating system failing to respond after a short period of playback time. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28827

Attempting to playing a DVD title using WinDVD 7 and enabling hardware acceleration no longer results in the DVD failing to play. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29558

Setting the secondary display device to primary and the primary to secondary no longer results in the display swapping failing after enabling extended desktop mode. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29559

Tearing artifact is no longer visible on OTM display when playing back any video using Overlay with OTM enabled. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29561

Google Sketchup no longer has an incorrect cyan colored X-axis. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29562

Cyberlink HD playback: Performing a mode change when playing a video no longer results in the video playing at various speeds. 737-29564

Overlay Theater Mode settings are no longer grayed out when the desktop is set to display resolutions of less than 1024x768. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29571

A Tuner Not Available error message is no longer displayed when starting MCE after installing the ATI driver and video decoder. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29572

Resolved Issues for the Windows XP Operating System

This section provides information on resolved issues in this release of the ATI Catalyst™ Software Suite for Windows XP. These include:

Adobe After Effects 8.0: The Fragment Shader no longer fails when rendering shadows. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29565

Bioshock: Frame stutter associated with time spikes in random components of the render stats is no longer noticed as the character walks around. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29041

City of Heroes: Attempting to play the game on a system running Windows XP no longer results in the game failing to launch when using an ATI Radeon™ HD 2600 XT. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29567

City of Heroes: Enabling CrossFire™ followed by attempting to launch the game no longer results in the game failing to launch and the operating system failing to respond. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29568

PowerDVD: Playing a DVD on a system containing an ATI Radeon™ HD 2400 series of product no longer results in missing pixels being noticed on the DVD menu selection. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28511

PowerDVD: Playing a DVD on a system containing an ATI Radeon™ HD 2400 series of product no longer results in missing pixels being noticed on the DVD menu selection. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28511

World of Warcraft: Intermittent flashing is no longer noticed when enabling AA. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29569

Setting the display device to 1280x1024 and attempting to playback a VC1/h.264 title using the Cyberlink player no longer results in choppy playback. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28832

Corruption is no longer noticed when playing wmv files with WinDVD when CrossFire™ is enabled. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29566

Known Issues Under the Windows Vista Operating System

This section provides information on known issues associated with the ATI Catalyst™. These include:

Call of Juarez: Enabling CrossFire™ and setting the in-game graphics options to higher settings may result in the game failing. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29541

Call of Juarez: Enabling CrossFire™ may result in flickering being noticed when playing the DX10 version of the game. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29540

City of Heroes: Attempting to play the game on a system with a dual link panel connected to it may result in the Windows Vista operating system failing to respond. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28495

Day Watch: Playing the game on a system running Windows Vista may result in the flickering being noticed. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28825

EarthSim2: Setting the desktop resolution to 1600x1200 32bpp may result in display corruption and the operating system failing to respond after a short period of game play. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29545

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter: Pressing the Alt+Tab keys when playing the game may result in the Windows Vista operating system failing to respond. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28491

GTA San Andreas: Enabling AFR mode and CrossFire™ may results in corruption being noticed in the opening cinematic of the game. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29543

Lost Planet: Setting AA to either 4x or 8x may result in the game failing to respond. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28492

Rainbow Six Vegas: Setting the display resolution to 1600x1200 and applying the in-game settings to high may result in corruption being noticed when using an HDMI display device. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28826

Resuming from an S3 state may result in a longer than expected time for the Windows Vista operating system to resume. Further details can be found in topic number 737-25798

Catalyst™ Control Center->OverDrive™: The OverDrive™ setting are not retained for individual accounts. This issue may also be experienced under the Windows Vista operating system. Further details can be found in topic number 737-25805

The Record function currently fails to work when using an ATI All-In-Wonder X1300 and time shifting is enabled. Further information can be found in topic number 737-22014

A blank screen may be displayed after unchecking all the Component Video formats except when the 480i30 custom mode is applied. Further details can be found in topic number 737-27620

A green or black screen may be displayed when configuring MCE to ATSC mode. Further details can be found in topic number 737-27622

The 3D aspect may appear blank when launching a second instance of the Catalyst™ Control Center™. This issue may also be experienced under the Windows XP operating system. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28482

The Catalyst™ Control Center version number may fail to be updated after the installation of a newer Catalyst™ Control Center. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28493

Dragging player window to secondary display while playing back HD content and moving it back to primary may result in blank player window. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28496

Creating a secondary user account and switching from the secondary user account to the primary user account may results in CrossFire™ failing to be enabled. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28786

Connecting a secondary display device and enabling CrossFire™, followed by disabling CrossFire™ no longer results in CrossFire™ pages in the Catalyst™ Control Center showing that it is enabled. Further information on this issue may be found in topic number 737-28845

The composite video slider values may be automatically applied without clicking on the Apply button. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28812

Setting the language option to any of the supported languages other than English may result in the help page for Advanced Color failing to be displayed. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28822

Using live TV on a system containing an ATI HD 2900 XT product and running the Windows Vista operating system may result in the application failing if the Catalyst™ 7.6 driver is installed. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28823

When running certain OpenGL samples, the ATI Radeon™ graphics adapter may not be running at the requested clock values on a CrossFire™ configured system. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28824

The Catalyst™ Control Center version number may fail to be updated after the installation of a newer Catalyst™ Control Center. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28493

Setting the display resolution to 1680x1050 and playing either an MPEG 2HDi/p, VC1, or H.264 interlaced content may result in the content not being accelerated and resolution restrictions being applied. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28828

A Windows error message may occur when game settings are set to their highest levels. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28830

Performing an express install of the Catalyst Control Center may result in an error message being displayed when rebooting the system. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29532

Hot-plugging an HDMI display device may result in the display device failing to be detected. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29534

Hot-plugging an HDMI display device to a system that has a CRT connected to it, followed by swapping the display devices may result in invalid refresh rates being listed in the Display manager. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29536

Using PowerDVD to playback a Blu-ray title may result in the Windows Vista operating system failing with a 0x000000EA error. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29537

A black window may be displayed when attempting to play a DVD title using WinDVD 7 when Overlay Theater Mode and clone mode is enabled. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29539

Windows Dream Scene Content: Corruption may be noticed when attempting to run the preview for the chosen clips. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28856

Enabling extended desktop mode and setting the display resolution to 1280x800 or higher, followed by playing an HD-DVD using PowerDVD, may results in the HD-DVD title failing to play. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29547

Setting the display resolution to 1600x1200 or less may results in corruption being noticed when attempting to play an HD-DVD using the Cyberlink player. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29550

Setting the display resolution to 1680x1050 and playing either an MPEG 2HDi/p, VC1, or H.264 interlaced content may result in the content not being accelerated and resolution restrictions being applied. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28828

Frame flipping may occur while playing certain VC-1 content titles. Further details can be found in topic number 737-27804

Playing a HD-DVD or Blu-ray title using PowerDVD followed by rotating the display device by 90 degrees may result in the operating system failing to respond. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29552

Known Issues Under the Windows XP Operating System

The following section provides a summary of open issues in the latest version of Catalyst™. These include:

City of Heroes: A fatal error message may be displayed when exiting the game and attempting to launch the Catalyst™ Control Center™ in Advanced mode. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28514

DIRT: Launching DIRT with CrossFire™ enabled may result in the game failing to launch and an error message being displayed. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29554

Enabling CrossFire™ may result in display corruption being noticed when playing a DVD or media clip using either WinDVD 7, Windows Media Player or PowerDVD 6. Further details can be found in topic number 737-22806

Catalyst™ Control Center->OverDrive™: The OverDrive™ setting are not retained for individual accounts. This issue may also be experienced under the Windows Vista operating system. Further details can be found in topic number 737-25805

Connecting two display devices to an ATI Radeon™ X1600 series product may result in the device manager failing to detect the secondary display device. Further information may be found in topic number 737-21266

On certain products playing back VC-1 and H.264 content with display resolution set at 1360x768 or higher may result in screen flashing. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28515

On certain products, dragging player window from primary to secondary display no longer results in hardware acceleration being disabled which resulted in the CPU usage increasing. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28516

With some h.264 titles that have MPEG2 introductions; playback may switch from hardware accelerated to software once the introductory content is finished. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28517

Playing an HD Blu-ray title using Cyberlink PowerDVD 7.3 Ultra for Blu-ray and HD-DVD followed by open multiple windows and moving them around the desktop may result in the windows background not being re-drawn properly. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28831

Installing the HDMI audio driver and the VIA audio chipset driver may results in a compatibility issue being noticed and a yellow exclamation mark showing up in the Sound, Video and Game Controllers. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28833

On certain products playing back VC-1 and H.264 content with display resolution set at 1360x768 or higher may result in screen flashing. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28515

With some h.264 titles that have MPEG2 intros, playback may switch from hardware accelerated to software once the introductory content is finished. Further details can be found in topic number 737-28517

Enabling extended desktop mode following by launching the Windows Media Player may result in the player failing to appear on the secondary display device in full screen mode. Further details can be found in topic number 737-29555

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